House GOP plan on debt, budget appeals to few, stalls resolution

Speaker of the House John Boehner, fuming aides say because he feels “left out” of the budget negotiations nearing completion in the Senate, unveiled a House plan today that received at best lukewarm reception among Republicans and was dismissed as “too partisan” by many.

“It can’t pass the Senate and it won’t pass the Senate,” Majority Leader Harry Reid said of the plan, which again attempts to add a bunch of new regulations and restrictions as part of any deal to reopen the government until early next year and avoid a fiscal meltdown from a debt default on Thursday.

After a hour-long, closed-door meeting among Republican members in the House, it appeared the proposal would not pass there either.

As has become the norm for any proposal from House Republican, changes to the new health care law are park of the package.

“The President has said repeatedly that Members of Congress don’t get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation’s bills,” said Amy Brundage, a White House spokeswoman. “Unfortunately, the latest proposal from House Republicans does just that in a partisan attempt to appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans who forced the government shutdown in the first place.”

Boehner offered the plan as an attempt to appease tea party Republicans upset with the plan that is expected to emerge from the Senate later today.

But even Republicans in the House said the new plan from the Speaker isn’t something they can support.

“The jury is still out,” said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, while Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., said he couldn’t vote for the plan because it does not address the debt.